Traditionally, what constitutes as ‘art’ worthy of a museum or gallery spot is a painting, drawing or sculpture by an artist with a fancy-sounding last name who studied in an art school or was an apprentice to a famous name.

In short, these artists all knew what they were doing and even if sometimes we may not see the beauty in their works (art is supposed to be subjective, isn’t it?) we at least respect them knowing we can’t do what they did ourselves if we tried.

Well, how times have changed. Whilst visiting a coffee shop doubling as an art gallery recently I saw several works labelled as ‘art installations’. They were nothing more than polystyrene pieces seemed to have been cut randomly and placed on a piece of cardboard.

If only they’d have told me. I could have made a fortune by now everytime I buy a new appliance by taking the polystyrene packaging and letting my two-year-old nephew go wild with it until it broke off into pieces. Then I’ll put some glue at the bottom and plaster each piece on some extra cardboard in the attic and what do you know, I’ve got myself a piece of art!

But what about when the urge to create a masterpiece comes and you’re stuck in your nine-to-five? Then you see the paper clips, Post-It notes and push pins in different colours, and an idea hits: why not create and popularise your own brand of ‘office art’?

Post-Its, particularly have great potential to be turned into crafty pieces because they are colourful, easily folded or shaped and comes in different sizes. Sticking them onto a surface is not a problem either.

So do drawing pins as they make a great ornament to accentuate the design of anything ranging from furniture and walls to shoes and belts. How about stacking those floppy disks (you mean you still have those?) and turning them into a cool pen holder or planter?

There has got to be loads and loads of examples in Pinterest showing how bored office workers make the most of their time when not arguing with a co-worker over “who took the darn pen?” or whose turn it is to make tea. You can draw some inspiration here: http://www.brit.co/repurpose-office-supplies/

This article originally appeared in: http://www.theofficesuppliessupermarket.com/articles/hone-your-artistic-talents-using-office-supplies